Penguin vs. Bear: 1-0

Hoop Dreams. Crumb. Michael Moore's Roger & Me. Errol Morris' The Thin Blue Line. Michael Apted's 7 Up series. These are some of the finest documentary features in recent decades, and they share one distinction: none received an Oscar, or even a nomination, for Best Documentary. An outcry over the exclusion of films like these and charges of cronyism within the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' selection committee led to rules changes in 2001. So this year's list will be a lot sharper, eh?

Nay. Let's name five of the most acclaimed nonfiction films of 2005. The Aristocrats is...